Alice Academy
by LostKey
Summary: Mikan experiences abuse from her aunt... How does this change her perspective at Alice Academy? Follows storyline..mostly, NxM and L
1. Chapter 1

This is a remake of Alice Academy by xfurbyx. I have changed my account from xfurbyx to Lostkey. I am sorry for the problems that this might cause.

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It was the beginnings of a new day. The birds were chirping their sweet chorus, while students groaned at the prospect of having to go to school. Parents shared a small morning greeting amongst themselves before heading out for the daily day of jobs and chores. However, not every house was experiencing such simplicity.

In a small modern house, a not so pleasant story was occurring. "Wake up brat!! You better get breakfast ready in ten minutes or you know what will happen!" screeched a pudgy middle age woman with a big nose and oily shoulder length hair.

The brat whom she was yelling for went by the name Mikan Sakura. The poor girl gave a shudder of disgust at the voice as she slowly got up. '_Like I got any sleep. The way you snore is probably worse than a pig._'

However even without the snore, Mikan knew she wouldn't have slept. She had another beating. It left her wide awake throughout the night. Her body was covered with bruises and cuts. Although the pain had subsided to a dull throb, it still hurt incredibly hard to move. She moved from her makeshift bed, which was really a pile of bed sheets and a ragged towel. She had long forgotten what it felt like to sleep on a real bed. Her room wasn't even a room. In fact it was an attic. There wasn't a lot of space either as most of the attic was taken up by boxes and antique monstrosities and relics.

She bee-lined her way out of the attic and stumbled down the stairs of the house to the kitchen. It was a rather painful trek; her sides were beginning to hurt again. But she continued nevertheless, taking out the pans and items to make the breakfast. It wasn't like she had a choice in this. She tried many times to leave, run away but she always failed.

'_It's not like anybody is going to come and help me_' she thought bitterly as she smacked the pan onto the stove. She then tipped a spoon filled with oil onto the warming pan and began to crack eggs in preparation for make an omelet. The faster she finished cooking the food, the higher the chance she might have avoid that obnoxious person. As she began to beat the eggs, her thoughts ran back to her grandpa… _'Grandpa….I miss you.'_ She thought wistfully as she poured the mix into the now hot pan, a tear threatening to leak from her eye.

Life was not always like this. It had been great before this. She had a loving grandfather who was funny and caring, teaching her the values of life; always enlightening her with his never-ending stream of knowledge. She didn't know who her parents were, but from what her grandpa said, they were great people and that was just fine with her. Everybody in the neighborhood was nice and really fun to be with. Never did she feel alone when she walked the street. She also had a wonderful best friend, Hotaru Imai, whom she still remembered vividly.

Though initially, there was rivalry, after they got over it, they just clicked. Though sometimes they would get into small squabbles, it was friendly ones. Mikan smiled with nostalgia, as she remembered a particular incident where they were having a fight over who would have the last piece of watermelon. In the end neither of them got it. In fact Mikan's grandpa snatched it from right under their nose. It was a wonderful dream that was never-ending, until that day that everything shattered.

Mikan frowned as she plopped a cooked delicious omelet onto a plate and began to put sausages on to sizzle. Ever since that day, her reality was shattered and she was dragged down into what she called 'hell'. Before Mikan had time to even mourn or cry her 'Aunt' came a forced her to leave her village. Nobody even knew that she disappeared. She couldn't even say goodbye to Hotaru, much to her distress. When she entered her aunt's house she was degraded to nothing more but a slave. Every passing day was a scary experience, a nightmare. No longer was she fed daily, in fact, she would get beaten if she spoke out of turn and made even the slightest mistake with cleaning or cooking. Heck, she wasn't even allowed to go to school!

The numerous times, Mikan attempted to run away, she would never get far since her aunt's boyfriend would always catch her and drag her back. Those were the worst times where she would be punished and starved for days, locked in the backyard shed. No one ever heard her when she screamed for help. Either that or they chose to ignore it for the fear of what the aunt would do to them. Her life was miserable… But she never cried or became downhearted, choosing to be optimistic. She always told herself to never give up. '_I will leave this place one day…I refuse to be broken by her. What would grandpa think if I gave up?_' That thought alone kept her going for days, making her think of new plans. She took all the beatings without a sound refusing to let her aunt hear her shed a single tear. She hid her fear, pain, and anguish behind a smile.

Mikan took out the sausages and placed them down on the table that was laden with a multitude of assorted food. She eyed the food hungrily but did not touch any of it, for the fear of the woman finding out. She was thin to begin with, but after months at this horrid place, Mikan knew she lost a lot of weight. Though it was not enough for her bones to show and jut out, it was enough for her to notice. Her clothing was hand-me-downs that were two sizes too large and how she hated them. They were thin and shapeless.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, jolting her out of her thoughts. She quickly closed the stove and went to get it, wondering who would be here this early in the morning. Her aunt's friend usually came when it was late at night. Those friends were just as bad as the aunt, some even worst. She opened the door, timidly, only to find a blond haired man with two small moles under his left eye and a rather sweet smile.

She plastered on a smile and politely asked, "Hello! Are you looking for the owner of this house?" The man did not notice the fakeness and gave her a really kind and cheerful smile, and replied "Actually I'm looking for a girl named Mikan Sakura. I was told that she lives here?" Mikan's smile froze on her face as her eyes widened. Someone was asking for her? Was this a joke? Was it possible that… She nodded "I'm Mikan Sakura! How may I help you?"

His smile widened. "Well child, I'm here to pick you up. The government found that you are an 'eligible student' for entering the prestigious Alice Academy to develop your skills." Mikan's eyes widened even more and her jaw almost dropped in surprise. Was this a dream? She had heard of that school. It was said to be the most prominent school out of all of the schools in Japan. Only the most talented could enter such a school. Once upon a time, Mikan would have believed it right away but now she wasn't so naïve. She eyed him warily. What if this was some scheme by her aunt? "I don't believe you. I have no special skill and I'm only a child. There's no way I possess such a skill." The blond man seemed surprised by her actions but he quickly hid it, though Mikan still caught the look.

The man ran his hand through his hair, as if thinking "Don't tell anybody this. The fact is that it is only called a school for geniuses as a guise, but the real meaning isn't about being a genius. It is a school for those who have a talent that is very special and unique. It's called an Alice. We have found that you possess the Alice of nullification." Mikan stared in disbelief. What in the world was this man talking about? "What?! How come I never knew this? What is this nullification? What does it do? And anyway how would you know? I never even met you before! Why-?" The man held up his hand and couldn't help but chuckle at the barrage of questions, "Hold on dear. I can't answer every question if you don't give me time to explain." Mikan blushed a bit and remembered herself surprised that she, herself, talked so much. She mumbled a quick apology but it was clear that she was forcefully holding herself from asking more questions as her eyes were practically glowing with questions.

Suddenly there was a nasally shout, "Brat!! Where are you and why haven't you finished making breakfast?! Do you REALLY want a repeat of what happened YESTERDAY?!" Mikan involuntarily flinched, that did not go unnoticed by the blond man, and looked back into the kitchen. There stood her aunt in her bathrobes. Her hair was a mess, as if she just rolled out of bed, a walking balloon. Her face was bloated and was an unhealthy shade of puce. Her fingers were pudgy and her nails were thing and long like a rake. Sakura hated this woman-, no this monster with a great passion.

The aunt then seemed to realize that there was a guest. She took one look at him and was all over him in a matter of seconds. "My, What a beauty you are! Why don't you stay and have breakfast handsome? If you need a job I can get you one at the bars" she purred lewdly. Never mind that she already had a boyfriend. The man looked at her with disgust clearly written in his eyes. From the way she shamelessly tried to flirt with him and offered him; the way she treated Mikan and the way the girl acted, he had a clear impression on how this woman was like.

"Actually I think I'll just be leaving and I'll be taking Mikan with me." The aunt narrowed her eyes as her advances were brushed off. "No, you can't. I have rights to her since I am her only blood related relative. Who are you to think you can just come and take whatever you want. However, if you need anything you should ask for me" she said fluttering her eyelashes. It was disgusting.

Mikan wanted to gag at the way the woman portrayed herself, but she looked down to her feet avoiding her aunt's eyes. The blond hair man sighed in barely concealed aggravation before holding up a suit-case and offering it to the woman, "This is the amount that I can give you for the relinquishing of your niece...." As he opened the case the aunt's eyes seemed to bulge out in shock. In it were rows of cash. She moved towards it like a zombie. But before she could touch it, the man closed the case and held up a piece of paper. "I need you to sign this first." The aunt did not even look as she scribbled her signature and greedily took the case. "Take her."

The man took Mikan by the arm and dragged her out of the house quickly. Mikan could only follow in shock. Just like that, she was leaving this place. Finally, she was leaving this place. She gave a small smile of triumph, a real smile. "_I'm Free_."


	2. Chapter 2

Rush~! xD Ahh~! Next Chapter coming soon.

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The only word that Mikan could really describe her predicament as was overwhelming. Finally, her world was no longer constrained by those dreadful walls. She was so happy. It was like a reverie that she always thought about. She was even going back to school! Well that was what the blonde man said. If she remembered correctly, his name was Narumi. She liked this man. In a way he reminded her of her grandfather. He did not seem bothered when she asked simple questions. In fact he welcomed them with open arms. Not only that, he took her to buy new clothing.

With a smile, he bluntly said that what she wore were disgusting and not fit for her. She wholeheartedly agreed. They also ended up buying some school items and even went to a diner to eat lunch much to Mikan's delight. The amount of things that was bought was enough to fill a big suitcase. At one point Mikan worried about all the things being bought but Narumi brushed it off saying that it was all completely funded by the school. Thus it wasn't a problem. She had forgotten how it felt to be taken care of and she loved every moment of it.

Right now, they were in a car heading to the school. It was only mid-afternoon; the sun had yet to make its trek down. Mikan could not help but wonder what was in store for her. Narumi had explained that her Alice was very special, but he never broadened on it. When she asked why he smiled and said, "You have the power to stop any Alice. Heck, you aren't even affected by my Alice so that proves it."

That led to a whole round of questions about his Alice. "My Alice is pheromone sensitive. I have the power to charm people into doing whatever I please. I can't use it on you since you nullify it."

"But how do I know when I'm using it? Does it mean that everybody will be affected by it?"

Narumi gave a mysterious smile "Don't worry, that's why you're going to school. Right now, your Alice is based on your emotions and is unstable so it will fluctuate. Don't worry. You'll do fine."

Mikan tried to restrain herself but she was just so excited. It had been a long time since she felt this emotion and she was enjoying every minute of it. She gave a small sigh of content before drifting off into a much needed slumber, for once feeling completely safe and sound.

Narumi watched the girl drift off to sleep. He felt an ache pierce his heart as he once again took in the appearance of the poor girl. She looks so small and frail, even though she was so active and cheerful. He was beyond furious with the so called aunt. How dare she treat Mikan like she was trash? It disgusted him to no end. Upon further inspection, he had noticed that Mikan sported a couple of small scars on her arms though it was quickly hidden by the long sleeves she had chosen. But they were there, telling the tale of beatings.

When he asked about how her about it, she simply brushed it off with a smile and changed the subject. He had to commend her ability to hide away things that she didn't want to talk about. But he was able to catch a flicker of emotion though her eyes before she turned away. The haunted look that no child her age should ever have and chilled him to the bone. Never had he seen a child show such a painful emotion. It made his heart twist in pain and caused his anger rise to new degrees. He knew that she was hurt but he didn't know to what degree. He had a nagging feeling that she was hiding the worst of it, too. But there was nothing he could do if she didn't tell him. Narumi sighed. He desperately hoped that she would be more open about it or at least find someone to take to about it since she refused to tell him. He did not want to break the bond that he had just created with this little girl.

After a few hours, Narumi brought the car to a stop and nudged Mikan gently. "Wake up sleepy head! We're here."

Sakura grumbled and gave a small pout, "I don't want to… How about we stay here for five more minutes?"

He chuckled at her antic, "If you want to spend the rest of the day in the car, then you can head right back to sleep. But, wouldn't you rather sleep in a bed at a school?" At that she quickly shot up and scrabbled out of the car. She could not help but to stare at the sight before her. Wow.

Narumi who was taking out the suitcase that held all of the items bought, noticed her star struck gaze and could not help but grin at the sight "Welcome to the National Alice Research Institute Academy Headquarters otherwise known as Alice Academy"

Mikan gaped, "It's HUGE!! This is the school?!" The wall of the school was enormous and stretched on for what seemed like miles. She couldn't even see the end! She could see some buildings, all of which were beautifully structured with a stately tinge.

"I'm glad you enjoy the sight. Now lets' go inside and-"

BOOM.

Mikan went flying, landing on her side, the side where the bruise was, her bad side. It HURT! She winced in pain but wiped her expression, quick to hide it. She did not want to worry Narumi. So when he asked if she was alright she simply nodded. She did not trust herself to speak, for if she spoke then it would have clearly indicated her pain.

When Narumi made sure that Mikan was fine, he looked up towards the top of the wall. Mikan followed his gaze and to her surprise she saw a boy with a black cat mask. He looked to be around her age but that was her guess. Narumi did not seemed to be all that bothered by the sudden turn of events. This led Mikan to think that maybe this was a normal thing. "That would be Natsume Hyuga. His has an Alice like you too. But his is a fire Alice. That's how he caused that explosion." As Narumi explained this, he took out a small seed that gradually grew in to a whip. Mikans eyes widened in shock as she watched the transformation happening before her. How was that even possible?! Wasn't that a seed just a moment ago?

She looked on with morbid fascination as Narumi aimed the whip at the boy, hitting the boy right across the face causing the mask to slip off. With the mask off, Mikan saw a rather handsome boy with short black hair and fiery crimson eyes. Mikan froze as she looked at him. For some reason, she could not take her eyes off him. The boy glanced at her but made no comment, instead he focused his attention to the teacher. The boy had also landed to where they current stood due to the impact of the blow. Mikan wondered if he was friendly but thought against it when he began to glare.

Narumi grinned completely, unaware of what transpired. "So Natsume, it seems you were trying to escape again. Would you prefer the easy way, where we don't fight and act civilized or would you prefer the hard and very embarrassing way?"

Natsume glared but did not say anything. Narumi sighed and shrugged. "Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Before Natsume could react Narumi grabbed Natsume's shirt and kissed him on the cheek. For some reason, Natsume turned very red and there were small hearts in the center of his eyes. He muttered "Damn pervert. I'm going to get…you….for this…." before he fell into a faint. Mikan was so glad that she was not at the end of that kiss.

Narumi grinned at his accomplishment, "Well you could have acted civil and not blow up things."

He pulled Natsume up and carried him like a sack of potatoes on his shoulders. Mikan could not help but stare. "Come along Mikan-chan. The entrance is right there."

Mikan followed hesitantly wondering if she was going to regret coming. Heck she wasn't even inside yet and already, something weird happened. Was this normal? Anyway, she knew one thing; life was going to be a heck of a lot more different.

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Hope you like~!


	3. Chapter 3

Next Chapter up! Thank you for reviewing! : ) Hope you enjoy~!  


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Mikan looked at the room she entered with absolute awe and complete adoration. She felt the strong urge to pinch herself to make sure this was all real. Her eyes were round as saucers as she took in the surroundings. It was the type of room she used to dream of in fairy tales. The room itself was at least twice the size of her aunt's room and was lavishly decorated making it look regal and high classed!

While she continued to admire the room, Narumi took this opportunity to dump Natsume on one of the couches in the room. The bags he carried were placed on the couch across from the boy. He turned to Mikan who was still standing at the doorway in awe, and beckoned her to sit next to the bags. She walked in a daze before plopping herself onto the sofa.

Narumi chuckled at the child's antics, "Now stay in here while I go talk to the principal. I'll be right back, okay?"

Mikan gave a fervent nod and watched silently as Narumi left the room. The moment the door closed behind the blonde's back, Mikan began her walk around the room, admiring at all the different assortments in the room until she was simply too tired to walk. This place was amazing and to think that this is only one of the rooms she had seen! She couldn't wait to see what the other things this school had in store for her.

She moved to sit on the plush sofa with her bags. Right across from the couch in which she comfily resided in was Natsume, who had been unceremoniously was dumped there. There was an awkward silence as she observed the person in front of her. Mikan fiddled with her fingers idly. What was she suppose to do now? How long did it take to simply talk to the principal?

She hesitantly turned her attention back towards the unconscious boy, Natsume. His cheek was still red from the hit. It looked like it was beginning to swelling. Maybe she should help lessen the reddening? But what if the boy woke up? No, the boy was out like a light. There was no way he would wake up any time soon.

Before she even realized what she was doing, she was dabbing his face with a wet handkerchief. When she placed the cloth on his cheek, she had the sudden urge to stroke his hair. It looked soft. Wait. What was she thinking?!

She mentally berated herself. _What the heck is wrong with you? You barley even know him! But I wonder if his hair is as soft as it looks… GAH WHAT AM I THINKING?!_' She smacked her cheeks lightly in hopes of clearing her thoughts, but it didn't really help. She made her way back to her plush sofa and sank into it with a heavy sigh. '_What is wrong with me?_'

_Natsume's Point of View_

He felt disoriented. The side of his face stung. And why was he on the couch? _'That friggin' perverted bastard!' _Natsume thought with venom and annoyance as he started to recall the previous event. _'One of these days I am going to get him and make it so that he can never EVER do anything again!'_'

Suddenly, he felt something wet being dabbed onto his cheek, soothing the sting. He had to force himself to not move as he heard the shuffling of feet, warily waiting. After a while it stopped and the sound of someone sitting was heard. He slowly opened his eyes and peered around cautiously. He was lying on a sofa; across from him was the girl he had seen earlier.

She had on an orange long-sleeved turtleneck and a short brown skirt, stockings, and brown boots. The whole ensemble complimented her amber eyes and her brown hair that was tied in a long ponytail. She had a thoughtful expression on; a slight blush dotted her cheeks. She looked really pretty. Wait, did he just think that? He had the urge to choke himself for even having that thought. Suddenly, her face abruptly changed showing incredible pain as she held her side and rocked back and forth, a gasp of pain escaped her lips.

She started to mutter to herself, head bent. He could not hear much but managed to catch the last phrase: _She's not here! It doesn't hurt…._ Who was this 'she' and doesn't hurt? The girl unexpectedly looked up and caught him in the act of looking at her. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at him. Crap

_NORMAL POV_

Mikan could only stare in shock as she realized that Natsume was awake and was scrutinizing her. '_He was still unconscious when I put the handkerchief on him! When did he wake up? Did he see?!...Probably…Oh my god. What do I do?!_' she thought as she began to panic.

In her alarmed state she did not realize that he was talking.

"Huh? Did you say something?" she asked a tad bit flustered. He face was impassive but his eyes flickered with amusement. She blushed and ducked her head. It's been so long since she talked to other people…

Natsume raised his brow and slowly, like she was hearing impaired, he asked "I said: Who. Are. You?"

She lost her blush instantly and glared "My ears are perfectly fine. Thank you very much!"

He gave a small smirk and muttered, "You could have fooled me."

Mikan gave an indignant cry, "Hmph! For your information, my name is Mikan Sakura. It's…I wouldn't say a pleasure to meet you." She huffed and stuck her tongue out at him before crossing her arms in annoyance.

He raised his brow in amusement, "Are you five or something? Cause you sure act like it."

Mikan glared at him and pouted in annoyance, "I can act whatever age I FEEL like acting! Anyway shouldn't you introduce yourself? Common courtesy, ring any bells?"

He rolled his eyes, "Sure, Sure."

Mikan glowered and waited impatiently "So what is your name?"

He shrugged, but replied "Natsume Hyuga"

Mikan nodded and slowly calmed down; at least she knew his name now. Silence descended upon the room as Mikan tried to figure out what to say next. In the end she decided to ask a question, "How do you feel about this school?"

For some reason, the room was beginning to get chilly, or was that simply her imagination? As she studied the guy's face, she noticed a rather cold look had replaced the originally nonchalant face.

Mikan raised her brow in curiosity. Perhaps she asked a bad question as his face became clouded with irritation. Maybe she should have asked a different question, "Um…you don't have to answer-"

"If I were ever given the choice I would never set foot near this god damn school." muttered Natsume, more to himself than to anyone else. However, the comment rang clearly across the room. Even though she knew that she was treading on dangerous waters, she could not help but to ask, "Why?"

It was silent. He hesitated and gave her a calculating look before averting his eyes, looking up at the ceiling from where he laid, "Why would you love something that took something precious away from you?"

Mikan furrowed her brows, "What…What do you mean?"

Natsume paused, before giving a bitter reply, "Under this 'prestigious' reputation, this school is hiding so much repulsive acts. It makes its 'students' do all the dirty work, no matter how young or old. They don't care if you get injured or not. Not only that, but it stole away my little sister, holding her hostage."

Mikan flinched at the bitter response, "I'm sorry for prying."

He gave a shrugged, "Nothing you can do about it." They drifted on to a silence.

Mikan bit her lip, what was she suppose to say to that? Doubts were beginning to form in her head as she began to wonder if it was a good idea to come here… She knew that he had just told her one of his secret and she felt compelled to say something, but what?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Natsume spoke, "Oye, why were you holding your side before? Did you get hurt or something?"

Now it was Natsume who felt like he crossed the line. Mikan only stared blankly at her hands before sizing up the boy before her. After a moment she spoke, "Since you told me your secret, I guess I can tell you one of mines. But promise me you won't tell anybody!" Natsume raised his brow but nodded his agreement. He sat up and took of the handkerchief, the sting had lessened and there was no longer a swell on his face.

Mikan struggled to find the words to explain, "I... have, no, had an aunt that treated... me really badly…I mean; I was more like a tool to her than anything else. I guess it's sort of like what you said about the students being used here. At least they had friends here."

A bitter look flashed across Mikan's face before disappearing as quickly as it came. Natsume frowned. Mikan continued, albeit hesitantly "But sometimes, she would get really angry...and well..." She pulled up her sweater slightly, revealing her side. Natsume stared, a mix of shock and horror etched on his face. There was a mass of bruises that littered her side. Some looked to be more recent than others. There was one particular one that looked really big, the one which she was probably holding on to before.

"What the hell?!" Natsume actually looked angry, much to Mikan's surprise.

She shrugged and dropped her sweater quickly, hiding the ugly sight. Secretly, she was glad to have finally told someone, even though she barely knew the guy. It was also touching that he cared enough to be angry for her…even if it was a boy.

She gave a small smile, "It's okay now, so don't worry about it! I'm never going back to her again and that's good enough for me! But promise not to tell anybody. Okay? I didn't even tell Narumi." Natsume, who seemed to have reigned in some of his anger, gave a mute nod before they both drifted off in silence…each occupied by his/her own independent thoughts.

Natsume was silently fuming. What kind of person could do such a thing!? Even Persona was not as bad and that was stretching it a bit but still! How could somebody do that to someone that was blood related to each other? He simply could not comprehend it.

Meanwhile Mikan began to squirm in boredom. It was too quiet. Maybe telling her problem to Natsume was too much of a bomb to drop on a person she just met… The mood was too somber.

Suddenly she remembered something and smirked. This would definitely get some sort of action. "So Natsume-kun"

He glanced at her, suddenly wary at the change of tone. "How did it feel to get kissed by a guy?"

Natsume rolled his eyes and glared. She smiled and bit back a snicker that threatened to escape her mouth. At least he was responding. But before he could reply, there was a crash.

They both turned to the source of the noise. One of the windows was broken and amongst the fragments of glass, sat a blond hair boy with blue eyes. "Owww!" he muttered to himself as he dusted remnant shards of his clothes. He looked up to see two sets of eyes looking at him. He gave a small wave, "Uh, Hi?"

Natsume got off the sofa, unperturbedly by the sudden intrusion. In fact, he walked over to the fallen boy and helped him up. "You're late." Natsume intoned.

The blond hair boy scowled slightly, but good naturedly "Whose fault is it? I didn't know where you were!" Then the boy turned his gaze to Mikan who was still sitting in her chair.

She was watching them with unconcealed amusement and curiosity. "So, is it normal for people to come flying in through the window in this school?"

"Be quiet, Polka dots" said Natsume nonchalantly.

Mikan gasped, her face turning pink. She pointed an accusing figure at the raven haired boy, "How did you know? Pervert!"

Natsume shrugged "I don't, but now I do. Thanks for telling."

Mikan went bright red, and shouted "Argh! You little creep!"

Natsume gave a condescending smirk "You acting like a five year old again"

Mikan glared "Shut up!"

Natsume shrugged "Have it your way" Suddenly, Mikan wanted to throw something at the boy, maybe that vase.

Then she noticed that the blond hair boy was looking at her and Natsume in shock, "Oh, hi! What's your name?"

He looked at Natsume who shrugged "Uh…My name is Ruka Nogi. Umm nice to meet you…?"

"Mikan Sakura, likewise" she supplied. He nodded.

Suddenly Luca looked to the door and said to Natsume, "Someone's coming. Let's get out of here."

Mikan watched as they started to climb out the window. "I hope you fall and hurt yourself you pervert!" She shouted with a glare, but the remark fell to deaf ears.

The door banged open just as Luca's head disappeared from view. "Mikan-chan, are you alright? I heard a crash"

She gave a shrug "I'm fine I guess." Narumi noticed the broken window but chose not to say anything.

Instead he smiled and held up a bag filled with clothing "Well, I got you your uniform! Why don't you go change in the changing room?"

She gave a squeal of joy. "Wah! Is it really mine?" she asked as she took out a set. It looked absolutely cute.

Narumi sweat dropped at her sudden enthusiasm but smiled "Of course it is. Now hurry up and change." He pointed her to the direction of the changing room and sat on the sofa to wait.

Mikan quickly changed into her new uniform, carefully avoiding her side. It still hurt. It had swelled into a huge mass of purplish blue section that spread around her side. But it was fine, it wasn't that bad…

She reasoned with herself. She had been through worse. She quickly covered her side and put on her skirt and knee high boots. When she looked in the mirror, she gave a gasp. Wow, she looked so different.

Since she usually wore baggy clothes, she mostly looked like a blob of rags. Now she looked like a whole different person and she loved it. The uniform consisted of a blouse and a black long-sleeved sweater over it. The skirt was plaited red and just a bit below her knees. The knee high shoes fit snugly and comfortably.

She couldn't believe that she actually looked cute! It was like she was a completely different person. She could not help but grin at her reflection. Then she noticed that her hair was still tied in a ponytail. She quickly unfastened it and replaced it with 2 pigtails. With that her appearance was complete. She gave a small giggle and left the changing room at a run.

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Enjoyed? Feel free to leave any comments or critiques : )


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you all for reviewing! :) I hope you guys enjoy the next installment~! There might be grammatical errors, i rushed "  


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Mikan came into the room with a bright grin adorn on her face. She turned towards Narumi and gave asked shyly, "So how do I look?"

Narumi gave a warm smile, "You look absolutely adorable! Those pigtails are a charming touch."

Mikan gave a small smile. She had mixed feelings about her new style. On one hand she was glad but she was also a bit sad. A small part of her wished that grandpa could have been able to see her like this. Narumi gave a frown as he observed the expression that the girl had. It was a mixture of happiness tinged with sadness. What had caused that to happen? He had unknowingly become attached the girl in the few past hours they had with each other. He didn't know anything about the girl except that she didn't grow up in the greatest environment. But the way the girl held herself, he doubt anybody would have known. She was so cheerful and determined not to trouble anybody with her problem, so it seemed.

"What's the matter?" asked Narumi.

At the sound of his voice, Mikan quickly smiled reassuringly, "Nothing really... I just want to thank you for all that you have done for me. I still feel like this is a dream."

Narumi gave a sad smile. She was such a sweet child. "This isn't a dream, Mikan. It's the real deal. Don't worry; you'll never have to go back to that aunt of yours."

Mikan could not help but feel a wave of relief wash over her. It felt so much more real now that it was actually said. She was going to have a new life and meet new people her age.

"Now Mikan, I've talked with the principal of the school. He says that you have been accepted to the school as being a prospective student." said Narumi. Mikan gave a shout of glee.

"But you have to pass a test first." At that comment, the girl deflated. She did not remember Narumi ever talking about a test at all! She hadn't picked up a book in ages and there was no way she could study for everything in time.

When Narumi saw how panicked she was becoming, he quickly interjected, "Don't worry about it! The test is actually really simple. You're going to join the Elementary division class B. All you have to do is get accepted by your classmates!"

Mikan frowned and stared at him with incredulous eyes. Was he really serious? What kind of test was that? Meanwhile, Narumi continued on as if it were perfectly normal, "We, the teachers, will judge and oversee your Alice. So don't worry okay? Just have fun."

Mikan raised her brow in disbelief. She could not help but hesitate at the strangeness of the requirement. But…she trusted Narumi, mostly. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Excuse me. We are the class presidents of class B." said a muffled voice.

"Well, this is convenient. You can meet some of the students' right now." said Narumi, before going to open the door. Mikan stood where she was nervously waiting to see her prospective classmates. What if they didn't like her? What if they noticed her injuries? There were so many uncertainties. But mostly, she was definitely looking forward to meeting people her age.

Narumi opened the door revealing a guy and a girl. They were both dressed in the same attire as she, albeit, the boy was wearing shorts instead of a skirt. The guy had short sandy hair and glasses while the girl had purple hair and a stoic face. They both looked to be her age…

Wait a minute, purple hair? And a stoic face? That girl looked strangely familiar! Mikan gave a strangled cry. Narumi frowned. Was something wrong?

Mikan moved slowly towards the two students, and tentatively…no, timidly called out, "Hotaru?"

At the call of her name, the purple haired girl seemed to suddenly focus straight on the person calling her. There was a pause before her eyes widened comically as she realized the person who was calling for her.

"Mikan?" she gasped in shock, her voice carrying across the silent room. Mikan let out another strangled cry before running towards the purple haired girl. She practically tackled Hotaru into the ground with the hug. Hotaru returned the embrace. The two best friends were united once again. Narumi quietly walked out; bring the shocked boy out along with him. The door closed with a small click, leaving the two girls to their reunion.

"I missed you so much! Please. Please tell me this isn't a dream." whispered Mikan. She could not let go of Hotaru. She held on tightly, as if scared that if she let go then Hotaru will disappear right before her eyes.

"Baka…I'm right here in front of you." said Hotaru quietly, as she rubbed Mikan's back in soothing circles. As Mikan slowly calmed down, Hotaru inspected her recovered friend. The purple haired girl could not help but frown at the state of health Mikan was in. Even if she weren't a doctor, she could see that the girl had a drastic loss of weight. And even though she couldn't see inside the mind of Mikan, Hotaru knew that the girl had changed, a sense of tainted innocence hung around her precious friend. What had happened?

Suddenly Mikan winced in pain breaking the hug. Hotaru watched in worry as Mikan held her side. "What is the matter?"

Mikan tried to brush it off. She didn't want her friend to worry about her, not during their reunion, "Nothing really. It's just a stomach ache…"

Hotaru frowned, "Mikan, you know you were never such a good liar."

Mikan gave a stilted laugh, making warning flags flare up in Hotaru's mind, "I know, but I couldn't help but try."

With that said, Mikan slowly pulled up her shirt to reveal a mass of bruises on her side. She watched unhappily as Hotaru gasped, freezing in shock.

"What in the world happened?"

Mikan shrugged brushing it off with a sad smile that made Hotaru's heartache. She quickly pulled her shirt back down, blocking the horrid sight from her friend's sight.

"This wasn't that bad compared to the others, so don't worry about it" said Mikan, before she changed the topic instead asking Hotaru what happened in the year that they were separated.

Hotaru noticed the avoidance but did not comment on it, for now. "After you disappeared, I had to come here… I have basically been here the whole time."

"Do you like it here?"

Hotaru shrugged, "But Mikan, what happened to you? Where did you disappear to? Everybody was looking for you."

Mikan grimaced and looked away. It was quiet for a good two minutes.

Mikan finally turned back to Hotaru, a stiff smile on her face, "After…After grandpa d-died, my…'aunt' came and took me away, claiming she was my only blood relative. We left in the middle of the night. I never had a chance to say good bye to any of you guys. From there, I was forced to work for her. I was trapped there in her house; I couldn't even go to school. I never even got the chance to see grandpa's grave and say good bye!" By now, Mikan's eyes were brimming with unshed tears that she refused to let fall, whether it was out of habit or simply because she did not want her friend to see her in such a state.

Hotaru, on the other hand, was brimming with anger. Her eyes were incredibly dark, almost bordering black from the usual amethyst! How dare that woman do that to Mikan! What kind of aunt was this woman? Hotaru had a feeling that there was still more to this that Mikan was hiding. She felt a flood of guilt crash into her heart. She couldn't protect her precious friend.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to help you Mikan." Hotaru whispered, unable to say anything else.

Mikan smiled and gave Hotaru a hug, "As long as you're here now, I don't have to worry about anything. Plus I'm never going to see that aunt of mine ever again."

Hotaru gave a small smile at the way Mikan brushed it off. She was still so optimistic and kind, even with what happened to her.

"You now get to take care of me 24/7. I expect full services." Mikan joked as they broke the hug.

Hotaru gave a small smirked, "Of course I will Mikan."

Mikan gave an edgy laugh and eyed her warily. Then, quite abruptly, Mikan asked her something that made Hotaru raise her brow, "Hey Hotaru, are we still best friends?"

"As best friends as we were before, if that's what you mean. If it is like that, then yes." Mikan's face broke into a huge grin, as an inexplicable weight seemed to drop from her shoulders. She hugged Hotaru again. She was so happy; so happy to be together with her friend. Hotaru gave a small smile.

There was a knock on the door. The two girls turned to see Narumi stick his head in. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get you guys to class."

Mikan nodded her head excitedly, "I can't wait! What is the class like?"

Hotaru shrugged, "…It's nothing like the classes we use to have. People here are…different."

Mikan furrowed her brow in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"The people here have special talents, I don't know how you got in here but I guess here is better that that horrid person."

This time it was Mikan who shrugged, "I'm fine Hotaru. I can adapt."

"Just so you know, when you're in class you better behave and not get into any trouble. Some teachers aren't nice and some students are even worse." said Hotaru warningly, her emotionless façade back in place.

Mikan laughed before she adopted an offended look "Hey! I'm all about behavior. You can trust me."

Hotaru rolled her eyes in disbelief, "Yah, right when pigs fly." She muttered.

Mikan made an indignant sound.

Hotaru continued "If you want to talk to me, you will have to behave because I'm trying to get the best student award. It is a rather tedious task."

Mikan looked at her confused. "Huh? What student award? Do you get a prize?"

Hotaru nodded, "It's sort of like a bunch of rewards…Mainly people do it for a week visit to your family."

Mikan nodded with rapt attention before frowning. "Wait. Why can't you just go home whenever you want to? Don't you have vacations or something?"

Hotaru sighed before looking off into the distance. "Mikan, once you enter this school, you can't leave until you graduate. Many kids are taken from their families and usually never see them again."

Mikan's eyes widened in shock, "You knew about this and you still came?"

Hotaru nodded and looked away, "Frankly I was tired of moving around form place to place. Plus, you were basically the first person other than my parents who saw through my façade. I made a lot of good memories in the village so it's okay."

Mikan smiled and hugged Hotaru again. Hotaru was always so brave and mature, something Mikan always admired.

They arrived to the room in which Class B resided. As they steadily reached the door, Mikan could not help but get nervous. She was so excited, she could barely keep still and was soon whacked by an annoyed Hotaru.

"Ow! That hurt Hotaru!" pouted Mikan, as she rubbed her head in pain.

"Keep still" replied Hotaru bluntly.

Narumi chuckled at the antics before patting Mikan on the head, "Okay Mikan! I'll be leaving you with Imai and Tobita. I have to go now."

Mikan nodded and waved bye to Narumi before turning back to her two classmates.

Then the boy, who was with them, shyly walked up to Mikan and held out his hand, "Hello Sakura-san, my name is Tobita Yuu. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Mikan smiled and shook his hand "Nice to meet you Yuu-kun."

Yuu smiled. Mikan could not help but think that Yuu was a sweet kid right of the bat. As Yuu proceeded to explain the class rules and what not, Mikan could not help but wonder what all the kids were like.

"Well, welcome to class B" he said, before opening the door to reveal her soon to be classmates.

Her jaw dropped in shock.

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Enjoyable? It was a bit short, but feel free to leave any comments or critiques~! until next time.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello. Sorry for the late update. =( I hope you all enjoy the next chapter~! =D Thank you all for reviewing. Much appreciated~!  


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This… This was her class? The whole room was in utter chaos. There were kids that were floating while others were walking on walls. She saw some strange drawings on the wall that also seemed to be…moving. The majority of the kids were in groups talking and completely disregarding the teacher who was up front. Said teacher looked like he was about to cry…scratch that he was crying.

Mikan looked at all of this before turning back to face Hotaru and Yuu, her shock was written all over her face. Yuu was rubbing his head sheepishly while Hotaru's face betrayed nothing at all. Seeing that Hotaru had no plan to explain the spectacle, Mikan turned to Yuu.

"Eh he. Well, it's sort of like a break right now since the substitute lacks the self-esteem to conduct the class. Technically, Narumi is the homeroom teacher for the class but he tends to leave us with the substitute." explained Yuu pointing to the adult who was now in the corner sobbing quietly.

"Umm, should we help him?" asked Mikan hesitantly. She really did feel sorry for the guy.

Hotaru shook her head giving the substitute a mild glare. The man seemed to shrink back into his corner, if that were even possible. "He needs to develop a backbone. Until he does, he's the sub homeroom teacher."

Mikan reluctantly nodded though she was feeling rather speculative about the idea. Nevertheless, she moved to follow Hotaru to her seat. Yuu continued to explain the classes that they were going to have and Mikan listen with rapt attention. It was a simple schedule; they were basically in the whole room for the entire time that was unless it was for meal times and physical education. Even if it was only classes; Mikan felt so elated and a tad bit worried. How different were these classes going to be from any other regular school? There seemed to be a lot of work that needed to be done. She was going to have to study real hard to catch up to everybody. With the withdrawn from school by her aunt Mikan was basically education deprived for the whole year. What if she couldn't catch up because the classes were too hard?

Mikan bit her lip as she steadily felt more and more worried. Yuu seemed to have noticed the growing tension. "Sakura-san. What's the matter?"

"Can you guys tutor me, please?" asked Mikan, hesitantly, panic evident in her eyes.

Hotaru shrugged nonchalantly "Depends if I have the time." Mikan frowned before pouting. Hotaru was still Hotaru no matter how much time had passed.

"Don't worry, I'll help you if Imai-san doesn't have time." offered Yuu with a kind smile.

Mikan grinned gratefully "Thanks Yuu-san!"

Suddenly, a snide voice called out over the noisy chatter of the students. "Hey Prez, is that the new student? She doesn't look like much."

Mikan followed Yuu's gaze, turning to the source of the voice. It was a girl…who had the strangest hair style Mikan had ever seen. For some reason, the front bangs of her hair were curly while the back seemed like it was perm …

Mikan could not help but wonder if the girl did it on purpose or not. She tried to hold back her giggles. What a weird person.

As she stifled the last of her giggles, she warily noticed that the whole room had gotten rather silent. This girl was probably pretty popular if people actually stopped their chatter to listen.

The girl tapped her foot in impatience as Yuu had yet to begin the introductions. "Hey, girl. What's your name?"

Mikan frowned. She did not like that haughty attitude. It was rather similar to the way that aunt acted when she bullied salesmen that came to her door. "Hi… My name is Mikan Sakura. Pleased to meet you…?"

The girl held herself with a haughty demeanor and gave a slight grin. "My name is Shouda Sumire. I am the president of the Natsume-Luca fan-club. You better remember that!"

Mikan tilted her head and blinked owlishly as she tried to absorb what the girl said. Though she nodded her head and gave a polite smile of interest, she could not help but scoff at the absurdity. Is this a joke? It's rather pathetic having fan clubs.

"…Is this a joke? It's rather pathetic having fan clubs…" Mikan jerked her head in surprise as her very thoughts were stated out in the open.

She turned to the boy who stood next to the Perm-haired girl. He had just repeated everything she said. How did he do that?

She looked at the boy in surprise, "You can read minds?"

The boy looked rather sheepish but did not deny it. "Hello. My name is Kokoro Yome. I have the telekinesis Alice. Since my Alice is still not completely under my control so I tend to utter peoples thoughts before I even realize it."

Mikan nodded her head in greeting and could not help but comment, ''Wow... That's a pretty cool Alice! But, it must suck to have to hear everybody's thoughts amongst your own. Don't you get confused sometimes?"

Kokoro, more known as Koko, gave a small smile. "It's not as bad as it use to be. I can completely separate my thoughts from everyone else." Koko could not help but wonder why he even bothered saying this. Maybe it was the fact that it had been a while since anybody had said his Alice was anything close to cool. Most people he met seemed more guarded when he told them. Some simply just left him for the fear of having their thoughts said out in the open. It wasn't like he was purposely trying to figure out what they were thinking. It was out of unconscious habit that he spoke out the thoughts of other people.

However, Sumire did not seem to take kindly to Mikan's thoughts as her grin turned into a glare. In fact, she was clearly outraged at Mikan's inner thoughts. "How DARE you say that is pathetic! For your information, Natsume and Luca totally deserve a fan club. They are the so cool and handsome that they deserve more than our simple fan club."

Sumire had a dreamy gaze as she continued to rant about Natsume and Luca seemingly forgetting about her classmate's presence.

Mikan frowned. Now that she thought about it, those names sounded very familiar. Could it be those two boys that she had met before? No way… It couldn't be them. She took a glance at Sumire, who had yet to leave her phase of gushing adoration, before turning to Yuu and Hotaru. "Please tell me she's only delusional."

Yuu gave a small smile but shook his head.

Hotaru, who had taken out a strange toy that looked to be only partially finished, began working on it. "It's her club, deal with it. Now leave me alone. I need to finish this for the next class competition."

Mikan pouted at her best friend's response. She was half tempted to make a not so nice comment but she held her tongue. If Hotaru was fine with this then she might as well just drop the incident. Mikan decided to leave it at that… it was not her problem.

Suddenly somebody tapped Mikan's back and she jumped, banging into the table. She barely held back a shriek. She clamped her mouth shut with one hand while holding her side with the other. Her jump had jostled her side. The person who tapped her backed away slowly, mistaking her shriek as surprise. It was only the substitute teacher. Everyone turned to Mikan, who looked very flustered. Most people snickered while Yuu asked Mikan if she was alright. Hotaru paused from her project and observed the sight with a mild frown. A couple rows away, a raven haired boy gave a calculating stare before turning away.

"Umm, Sakura-san, you can go sit over there." sniffed the substitute teacher timidly. He looked as if he was ready to cry at any moment. Mikan nodded quickly and moved to the designated seat. Anxiety filling her head as she got closer to the desk, her thoughts going back to the requirement that Narumi said she needed to fulfill.

All she had to do was get the class to accept her. Simple… Oh boy. She needed to think through this positively. She slapped her cheeks lightly urging the gloomy thoughts to go away. Several people eyed her strangely, but she ignored them continuing her one-sided conversation with herself. She just needed to be optimistic. Yeah. She just had to be friends with everybody.

As she sat down, she turned to face the person that she would be sitting next to. He had a manga magazine coving his face. He looked like he was asleep, keyword looked like.

She made herself smile, "Hi, nice to meet you!"

The magazine slid off his face revealing the guy. Mikan's smile slid right off her face. "You" she said bluntly.

The boy raised a brow, "Hnn? Oh it's you again." said the boy.

The people around them looked on in thinly hidden curiosity. They knew each other?

Mikan grimaced, "Why in the world are you here?"

"This is my class. Why wouldn't I be here?" stated the Natsume. He was fast losing interest in the girl, as he began to look through the pages of his magazine.

Mikan crossed her arms and sniffed disdainfully, "Great. I have to sit next to a weirdo like you-Woah!"

Suddenly Mikan was in the air. Actually…she was dangling in the air; with nothing to hold onto. What the heck!Mikan looked around frantically as she was now ten feet from the ground. The guy, who had caused it, glared at Mikan. "Don't be rude to Natsume."

Mikan glared right back as irritation took hold of her, "Since when were you the boss? The way I act towards people is of no concern to you! And why the heck would you follow that pervert!"

The boy glared and started making hand movements that caused Mikan to fly around the room. Mikan felt like a rag doll. She made a mental note to never throw around dolls. It was an unpleasant experience. She was beginning to get a bit queasy.

Meanwhile, Yuu was desperately trying to get the boy to stop "Mochiage-kun! Didn't Narumi-sensei say not to use your Alice for that? How could you do that to a powerless girl?" The boy ignored Yuu and continued to move Mikan around in the air.

Sumire laughed before turning to face Yuu, "Oh there is no need to stop." said Sumire calmly. "She was being rude to Natsume-kun. This is almost too kind!"

Natsume twitched and a small frown appearing on his usual blank face "…Let her down Mochi."

Mochiage looked surprised but complied, reluctantly lowering the brunette to the ground.

Sumire squealed with delight, "Natsume is so charming and kind!"

Yuu rushed to Mikan, worried etched in his feature, "Are you okay?"

Mikan kneeled and took in a deep breath of air. After a quick moment, she nodded. "A warning would have been nice. Don't worry Prez, I'm fine."

Natsume eyed the girl, "Yo, Polka dots"

Mikan glared at the nickname, a small blush dotted her face "My name isn't polka dots!"

Natsume ignored the comment, "What Alice do you have?"

Mikan stuck out her tongue, "I don't want to tell you."

But she could not help but wonder. Now that he mentioned it, there was still no sign of the Alice…

"Now that he mentioned it, there was still no sign of the Alice…" Mikan gasped and turned to Koko, who looked at her apologetically.

"Unbelievable! Do you even know what your Alice is?" sneered Sumire in mild disdain. How could one be so stuck up?

Mikan glared at the perm-haired girl, "Oh course I do!"

"They why don't you prove it!" said Sumire with a smirk.

Mikan continued to glare "I never learned how to use my Alice! And why is being an Alice so great?"

Sumire sneered, "Oh course its great! People without an Alice are like parasites; they flock around those that have an Alice. It wouldn't be an exaggeration that all the country's specialist has some form of Alice. We are different because we can't be replaced unlike those regular people."

The majority nodded in agreement, though some were rather reluctant in doing so.

Mikan just stared in disbelief. Who was this girl kidding! How…annoying! That condescending tone was seriously starting to grate on her nerves.

"So hurry up and show us you're an Alice or get out of this Academy!" continued Sumire with another smirk. Mikan just looked at the ground. Meanwhile, Hotaru looked at her friend in worry, should she step in? This was starting to get out of hand. Mikan had yet to make a sound. Natsume like everyone else waited for the girl's reaction. He could not help but wonder at what the girl was thinking.

Mikan was starting to get very angry. This girl needed to be taught a lesson. Her bangs hid her expression as she got up and faced Sumire. Mikan composed herself. When she looked up Sumire unconsciously backed up. Those who stood behind Sumire could not help but move away as well. The reason for this was the fact that Mikan was smiling… However, the smile looked very wrong on her face, in fact, it looked downright scary. Sure it was a smile, but it seemed to lack any emotion. What was also frightening was the look of fury that was clearly shimmering in her eyes.

Inside, Mikan was desperately trying to calm her boiling anger. It did not help that this situation brought up more memories about that 'woman' who had a similar attitude to the general human population. A flashback popped up, unbidden in her mind.

'…"_Get up girl! I'm still not done with you! Really, what has the world come to these days? Incompetent people are everywhere! How dare they fire me!"The woman was drunk again and conveniently decided that Mikan was the cause. Mikan staggered up or at least tried to, as her aunt continued to rant "I must be the only one that can see this! They are all idiots to fire the likes of me! I am the reason why that stupid company had ANY people!" She smacked Mikan again causing the poor girl to collapse on the ground and took another swig of alcohol…This continued until the aunt lost conscious leaving Mikan bruised and bloody.' _

Mikan twitched slightly and but continued to smile. Her face was downright chilling, Sumire backed up once more. "I refuse to 'get out' of this academy as you oh-so-elegantly put It."

Though she spoke quietly, her voice was clearly heard in the silent classroom. "From the looks of this, you guys are no better than the 'regular' people. If it's anything that you guys have more than 'regular' people, it's your disgusting personalities. You guys are just all Idiots with an extra toy!"

She crossed her arms and tooted as if scolding a child. She dropped her smile and glared, "Why don't you guys drop your stupid attitudes before you decide to judge others!"

Hotaru smiled quietly, glad that Mikan still retained her fiery personality.

Natsume raised his brows in surprise and quiet amusement. He could not help but give a small smile at the girl's audacity. Luca, who had been watching the whole scene could not help but widen his eyes in shock. It was rare to see that look on Natsume's face.

Sumire was furious, "What did you say?" shouted Sumire in anger, some of her fear lost due to the insults.

Mikan sighed and shrugged, "Should I say it to you slowly, so you can understand? YOU. ARE. AN. I-D-I-O-T!"

A slightly chubby boy that was next to Sumire glared at Mikan, "You better shut up or I'm gonna pummel you!"

Mikan raised her brow and smirked. "Bring it! The only thing you guys CAN be proud of is that you're an Alice! Other than that, you guys are completely USELESS!" shouted Mikan before sticking out her tongue again.

The boy lost it, and grabbed Mikan by the hair to which Mikan retaliated by punching the boy in the stomach. At least all the work she had done in the house toned her muscles. No way was she going to be taken down by a spoiled brat. She was doing pretty well until the boy blindly jabbed Mikan in the side, where the bruise was, really hard. Mikan feel to the floor, instantly, and curled into a ball as she held her side, trying to hold back tears. Shoot. Things were going so well.

Natsume frowned, not even realizing that he was halfway up from his seat. The guy had hit her in the place where that injury was. Should he go help her?

Luca turned to Natsume when he noticed that he was standing and looked at his friend in surprise. Natsume actually looked worried for the strange girl! Though it looked as if his face lacked any expressions, Luca could see worry in his eyes. Luca could not help but wonder, what was this girl to Natsume to provoke such a reaction?

Then, much to the surprise of everybody in the room, Hotaru was at Mikan's side in an instant, helping the girl up. "You didn't have to come. I had things under control."

Hotaru lightly smacked Mikan's head. "You Baka!" muttered Hotaru in mild annoyance "Why must you always pick a fight?"

Mikan gave a small pout, "'Cause, what they said was wrong and unjust!"

Hotaru sighed, though there was a flash of amusement in her eyes. "Baka."

"Imai! Why are you helping that girl?" stuttered Sumire, shocked by the development.

"She is my friend and if you harm her again, you will face my wrath." said Hotaru. An icy glare that gave her the title as the Icy Queen showed that she was completely serious.

Sumire frowned but nodded grudgingly, not wanting to anger Hotaru anymore "Fine"

Then the whole class slowly turned back to what they doing, albeit reluctantly. Soon the whole room was in chaos once more.

"Wow! Hotaru, you are so amazing!" said Mikan adoringly. She attempted to give hug but winced as her side protested.

Hotaru frowned, "What did I say about behavior?"

Mikan pouted "But-!"

Hotaru raised her brow at Mikan who scratched her head innocently before pouting. "Alright…I'm sorry."

Sumire turned to Natsume and Luca and whined insistently "Natsume! Luca! Do something about her!"

Luca turned to Natsume who seemed deep in thought. After a moment, Koko whispered something to Natsume who raised his brow. "…Yo, Polka dots. I heard you can't get enrolled in here if you don't get along with the people in this class"

Mikan's eyes widen until she remembered the mind reader. Koko shrugged as if to say sorry. Mikan looked down dejectedly. Damn "…Maybe."

Natsume raised his brow, "But I'll give you a chance that is if you're really an Alice as you say you are."

Mikan looked up warily while Sumire yelled indignantly "Natsume!"

Natsume ignored Sumire and continued "You see that forest over there?"

Mikan nodded turning towards the window that showed the forest. "That's the Northern Woods. If you can get through that forest to the high school division, and leave a footprint there, then I'll accept you as an Alice and let you stay here."

Mikan raised her brow as she looked at the boy who made the offer. He was challenging her and she was probably at a huge disadvantage. There was probably a catch.

"That's impossible!" Yuu suddenly yelped "Th-those woods are off limits to even Alice students!"

Natsume shrugged looking away from Mikan to the class president "I didn't say she had to. If she doesn't want to, she can just get her stuff and leave." The whole class was once again watching the exchange, wondering what the new girl was going to do.

Natsume turned back to Mikan and raised his brow "Are you going to do it?" The room was dead silent as everybody awaited her comment. Meanwhile, Hotaru had a strange urge that she hadn't felt in a long while. It was the urge to bang her head against a wall. She was not going to like this.

True to Hotaru's prediction, Mikan nodded "Of Course, I'll go."

Natsume smirked, "Alright then. Good luck."

Luca watched in surprise. Was it him or was there something going on. Why was Natsume spending so much time on one girl? Whenever other new students came he simply ignored them. The whole room burst into chatter as they watched the new girl leave with an air of confidence, dragging along Hotaru and a panicking Yuu with her.

At this point Luca decided he needed questions to be answered. He quietly asked "Why did you going through all that trouble? Do you know something about that new girl?"

Natsume shook his head, too quickly "No."

Luca looked at him disbelievingly Natsume raised his brow before looking away "It is not my place to say" Luca raised his brow, even more confused now.

Meanwhile, our young protagonist, Mikan starred wide eyed at the looming forest before her. "It's humungous! I never seen anything like this!" she said in wonder "Even the forest near the village is small compared to this!"

Yuu nodded and began to explain certain facts about the woods while Hotaru looked very annoyed "I didn't want to be here…"

Mikan pouted "Aww! Come on Hotaru! This is going to be so fun!"

Hotaru's eye twitched ever so slightly "Only you would think that way." Mikan decided to ignore that last comment.

As they started to walk through the forest Yuu continued to explain to Mikan about the forest.

"Let's be careful Mikan-san, There are a lot of strange stuff in this forest" cautioned Yuu.

Mikan tilted her head "What do you mean strange stuff? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Umm, no. For example…"

PL-UNCK! They all stopped walking.

"Yikes" exclaimed Yuu.

PLUNCK!

"Wh-What's that sound?" stuttered Mikan beginning to wonder if she made a wrong choice.

PL-UCNK!

Hotaru furrowed her brows and pointed warily towards the side. "There's your example"

Yuu and Mikan turned to see…a teddy bear?

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The teddy bear~! =D Feel free to critique and comment. I hope you had an enjoyable read!


	6. Chapter 6

Next chapter! Sorry for the late update. Enjoy. Also, Thank you all for reviewing.

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Mikan rubbed her eyes in disbelief "Is…that a…moving bear? Is that an axe it's holding?" she yelped, bewildered and excited.

The bear only reached up to Mikan's knee. For some reason, its eyes were set into a glare, perhaps sewn on wrongly. The bear was currently chopping wood with surprising amount of strength for such a tiny little thing. Next to it was a large pile of chopped wood. Mikan could only continue to stare with childish fascination and amazement.

To her, this was truly something magical. However, Mikan's companions had rather different views towards the bear. Hotaru had quietly disappeared into her cocoon like shelter called Wormy I, while Yuu moved to hide behind a big tree. The two were completely hidden from view, out of sight.

"Hey, does the bear have a name? Can we go meet it?" asked Mikan, completely unaware of what transpired.

There was only silence and the sound of wood being chopped. Mikan frowned and turned, only to find that the space that her classmates occupied was empty. "I thought they were right next to me a moment ago..."

Just as she moved to look for them, she heard a whole bunch of things fall the ground with a clatter. She turned back to see the bear attempting to pick up all the chopped blocks while holding onto the ones that it was still carrying.

Without a moment's thought, Mikan had already picked up the fallen blocks as well as the ones that had yet to be taken. She gathered all of the fallen pieces with ease and turned to the bear.

After making sure she was not missing anymore, she turned to the bear and grinned cheerfully, "Alright, bear…this is all of it!" she said with an air of finality. "So where do I put them?" she asked the bear. For a moment there was only silence.

It tilted its head and stared at her for another short moment before picking up its axe. It then started walking, away from the girl.

Mikan raised her brow in confusion before shrugging. She hurried to follow. "W-Wait up, bear! I have your wood for Pete's sake." cried Mikan as she tried to catch up to the bear without dropping anything. The bear was already a good deal away and did not pause for a second for the pigtailed brunette.

As she gained closer to the bear, she could not help but be enraptured by it was moving! Was there really an Alice that could do things like that? It was amazing that people were actually capable of doing such wondrous things. She could not help but wonder what Hotaru's and Yuu-kun's Alices' were. And just what could her Alice do…? Narumi had only told her what Alice she possessed, but nothing about how to use it.

Suddenly the bear stopped in front a little quaint house. Mikan could barely hold back her delight at incredibly adorable sight. "Kyaaa! What a nice little house!" she squealed in childish glee, almost dropping everything she was carrying to go look at the house. The bear tilted its head again before it pointed towards the side of the house where there was a couple of left over blocks laid a strewn. Mikan rushed to put the wood she was carrying down so that she could get a better look at the house.

"Amazing, this is just so amazing!" she uttered with admiration. She turned to the bear and smiled wistfully, "The person who made this house must have done it with lots of love and care, neh? Hehe, would it be strange of me to envy you?" she said quietly, a far off look in her eyes.

The bear looked at the strange girl in puzzlement. She had such a sad look in her eyes. However that expression disappeared as the girl realized something. "Oh! I forgot about my friends! Hotaru! Yuu-kun! Where are you guys?" cried Mikan.

"I could have sworn that they were right next to me a moment ago…" Mikan looked around frantically before she turned to the bear "Do you know where they went?" she asked with the look of a lost child. Had the bear had moving eyebrows, they would have risen very high up but it didn't. So it just pointed in the direction that they had come from and went inside its house and closed the door before Mikan could even say anything.

Mikan giggled, "Thank you!" She then ran in search of her missing companions.

She found them a couple of minutes later in a strange giraffe car driven by Hotaru. "Hotaru! Yuu-kun! I found you guys!" she called tearfully. As she moved to hug them, she was halted by a shot from Hotaru's baka gun. Yuu squeaked in surprise at the weapon that Hotaru seemingly pulled out of nowhere.

"Don't ever run off like that again!" scolded Hotaru in annoyance. Mikan rubbed her head in pain… She had forgotten how much it hurt. How long has it been since she had been hit by that dangerous thing? But she saw a hint of worry in the purple eyes and quickly moved to reassure her friend.

Mikan pouted and crossed her arms "But I didn't get lost! That nice bear told me where to go. Did you know it has the most amazingly adorable house I ever seen!" she gushed with a dreamy look before giggling in delight.

Yuu paled in shock, looking like he had seen a ghost "I-it let you go near his house?" Mikan tilted her head and nodded happily "YUP! You've got to see it! It is so cool!"

Hotaru raised her brow before a thoughtful look appeared in her eyes. The amethyst eyed girl gave a small smile.

"Did the bear try to fight you or anything?" asked Yuu worriedly.

Mikan shook her head, "Nope! I just helped him bring all the wood to his house and then I saw the house and then I went to find you guys… Come to think of it, where did you guys disappear off to?" asked Mikan in confusion.

"That bear you ran off with is infamous" muttered Hotaru as she started up the giraffe car, smile gone and replaced by her normal blank expression. Mikan hastily climbed up and into the car as it began to move once more.

Yuu nodded with fervent agreement "That bear is known as 'Mr. Bear' and they say that he has a mean nature because his eyes were sown on the wrong way. Mr. Bear is also really strong and has been known to beat up many kids that go near it"

Mikan started with wide eyes as she tried to process this information that was flowing rapidly from Yuu's mouth. Were they talking about the same bear? Mikan waited until Yuu was finished speaking and replied "I don't think that's true though. Maybe he's just being mean because the kids are trying to do mean stuff to him? Anyway, I think he's totally sweet! I want to be his friend" She smiled and nodded with finality determined not to listen to the rumors that Yuu had told her.

Suddenly Yuu let out a huge yelp of fear. Mikan looked at Yuu in confusion "Yuu-kun, what's wrong?"

"B-Bi-Big GIANT BIRD behind us!" he shouted in terror.

Mikan turned around and almost let out a shriek of fright as well "Oh my god! What is that thing?" she yelled in surprise.

The big giant bird was really a BIG GIANT bird, so big that it towered over the forest. Hotaru took one look at the bird behind them and stomp on the gas pedal…HARD. They speed off at a reckless pace, putting as much distance as they possibly could.

"GO FASTER HOTARUUU! It's following us!" yelled Mikan as she held tightly onto the side of the giraffe car.

"I already am!" muttered Hotaru in annoyance as she navigated through the woody area.

After a while, they managed lose the bird, much to their relief. "I think that bird was the one that a middle school student was raising." said Yuu as he tried to reorient himself to the sudden stop.

Mikan just nodded, to tired from yelling. She winced as she felt her injury on her side acting up. "Are you alright?" asked Yuu worriedly.

Mikan smiled and brushed it off "Don't worry; I just haven't screamed that much in a long time. Just give me a sec to catch my breath." Yuu nodded in understanding while Hotaru narrowed her eyes but refrained from saying anything. The three sat on the ground and pondered what to do next. The bird was still looking for them and they still haven't reached their destination. Suddenly Yuu came up with an idea.

"Ah! Luca can help us!" suggested Yuu timidly. Hotaru nodded, understanding dawned in her eyes.

Mikan frowned in confusion, what was she missing "What can he do?"

"He has the Animal Pheromone Alice!" explained Yuu more confidently.

Mikan frowned "But isn't he like, always with Natsume? They are always together."

Hotaru smirked "Don't worry, I have just the plan."

Mikan and Yuu unconsciously moved away from Hotaru. This could get dangerous….

As she told them of the plan, Yuu got steadily paler while Mikan just giggled at the idea. It was just like Hotaru to think of something like that.

Five minutes later, Yuu stood at his station, "Umm Are you sure this is going to work?" asked Yuu for the third time

Hotaru smiled rather deviously "Of Course."

"You can do it Yuu-kun! We believe you." exclaimed Mikan with a grin.

Yuu sighed and relented, creating the illusions of animals in panic. They waited and just like Hotaru predicted, one Luca came running towards them in search of the frightened animals. Now they waited for the next part of the plan to happen.

Luca looked around the forest in confusion. Where were the animals? He was in the barn playing with the animals when he heard the distressed calls of the animals in the forest. He had rushed out quickly and quietly to search for them, not telling Natsume. Now it seemed like he was lost without and he still hadn't found any signs of the distressed animals. He continued to walk around the area.

"What is going on—Ack?" he yelped as he felt himself fall into a hole that he did not see there. As he tried to get his bearings three shadows came into view. Luca looked up in shock when he realized who they were. It was the new girl, Hotaru and Yuu. The new girl had a long piece of rope and was smiling evilly at him. Uh-Oh.

"Yay! He actually came!" exclaimed Mikan happily high fiving Yuu.

Hotaru smirked confidently "I told you that he would come."

"Umm Sorry Luca-Kun!" apologized Yuu. Luca glared at the three from the ground where he sat all tied up. This was not what he expected and it felt really embarrassing.

"Now, moving on, we need you to help that bird over there." said Mikan, pointing behind her to the bird that was now crying by itself. "It's lost and we were going to use Hotaru's tranquilizer but we decided against it."

Luca looked up in surprise…well that explains why he was here. Hotaru began to get really impatient and decided to ….move things along.

"You know, if you don't decide soon, I think I might just use this tranquilizer…" said Hotaru calmly "I do like fried chicken…" Luca stared her in disbelief, but she had her tranquilizer out and ready.

"NOOOOOO! Hotaru? What are you thinking?" exclaimed Mikan with wide eyes. Hotaru began to bring the tranquilizer to aim at the bird.

"ALRIGHT! I'll do it!" said Luca in panic.

Hotaru smirked and put away the tranquilizer "I thought so"

Mikan sighed in relief and helped Yuu untie Luca from his bindings. "Thank god" she muttered.

"You guys have to promise that you won't look" said Luca once he was free.

"Of course we won't look," answered Hotaru before Mikan and Yuu could think to reply. Luca walked towards the bird.

Meanwhile Hotaru had dragged Mikan and Yuu to the side that hid them from view. "I thought we weren't going to peek" whispered Mikan as they watched Luca approach the bird. Yuu nodded his agreement.

"Be quiet" muttered Hotaru as she brought out a camera from nowhere… The three watched in shock as the scene unfolded before them.

Five minutes later…"So, that's the true Luca?" said Mikan with wide eyes trying to fight off the laughter that was threatening to overcome her.

Luca glared at the three people before him while blushing furiously. "YOU GUYS PROMISED!"

Hotaru raised her brow "No you didn't specify what we shouldn't look at." "Hey, Luca, do you want to come with us?" Luca huffed and was about to walk away when Hotaru grabbed his sleeve and showed him a picture…not good. Luca froze in mid-step. "The more the merrier, neh?" said Hotaru calmly with a smile. Poor Luca…

Meanwhile, At the academy…

"Natsume-kun! Luca has been kidnapped by that new girl!" exclaimed one of the students that had a Clairvoyant Alice.

Natsume who been taking a nap woke up immediately. "Where are they?" he said coldly.

"Umm, In the forest" Natsume rose up quietly and walked out of the room, everyone steered clear from him when they noticed his expression. Those people were going to pay…

Back at the forest...

"Come on Luca! Say hi to your forest friends!" said Mikan holding up a little rabbit. Luca glared and turned away.

Mikan pouted "Hey you're acting totally different from when you were with the chick. That's discrimination against animals! It's okay, he doesn't mean it" whispered Mikan to the rabbit.

Luca glared "It's none of your business"

"Hey Luca, These pictures are selling really well…" said Hotaru as she gave a picture to another one of the animals that lined up to buy the photos. Luca blushed and sighed in defeat. There goes his whole act.

"Don't worry about it Luca! We got to see your true self! I sort of thought that there was something weird about you." said Mikan cheerfully

Luca raised his brow in surprise, "huh?"

Mikan cuddled with the rabbit in her arms "You seemed like you were restraining yourself in class. It's because of Natsume, right?" said Mikan with certainty. Luca could not hold back his shocked expression.

Mikan noticed and smiled "I knew it! You guys seem like best friends! Just like Hotaru and me!"

Luca was at a loss for words. Mikan continued "Can't you guys act like your normal selves?" asked Mikan in curiosity.

"No! I can't…It won't be fair to Natsume…" muttered Luca.

"Why?" asked Mikan. Luca turned away in annoyance "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Stop butting in!"

Mikan huffed angrily "What are you trying to imply?"

Luca turned to her changing the subject "Do you even know what your Alice is?"

Mikan froze "Eh heh heh... Maybe I know what my Alice is…I just don't know how to use it…"

Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes behind the group. It was…not a happy person

"Natsume!" exclaimed Luca in surprise.

Natsume looked at the group and then at Luca and he noticed bruises on Luca's wrist which made him boil with anger. How dare they tie up Luca…!

"You fail" he said coldly to Mikan, who protested "What the heck are you talking about? I haven't even done anything yet!"

She almost yelped when he suddenly grabbed her by the hair, the look in his eyes murderous. It reminded her of that woman when she was angry at Mikan for messing up. Unconsciously, Mikan closed her eyes and clenched her fist, as if to wait for the telltale beating. Then he remembered the bruises and he hesitated…

Hotaru, seeing the opportunity, threw a smoke bomb at them enveloping everybody in smoke. Mikan was release from Natsume's grasp and fell to the ground coughing. The smoke made her eyes water and the coughing was making her sides hurt again.

"Woah!" yelped Yuu in panic. Mikan looked up to see, to her distress, that Yuu was surrounded by a ring of fire.

"Yuu-Kun!" shouted Mikan in distress before coughing again. '_This smoke seems to be doing more harm than good…_' thought Hotaru as panic started to rise up in her body. Suddenly she was also surrounded by fire. This wasn't going well.

"Tell me what your Alice is, new girl" said Natsume a ball of fire forming in his hand.

Mikan looked up from the ground and glared "I told you already, I know what Alice I have! I just don't know how to USE the damn thing!"

Natsume raised his brow "Then just tell me what it is."

Mikan looked at her friends and noticed that they were not doing so well "Natsume, stop hurting them!"

"Not until you tell me what you Alice is. All you have to do is show me you're an Alice," replied Natsume.

Mikan glanced around in panic. What was she suppose to do? Other than the time that Narumi said she was 'nullifying' his Alice, Mikan had not seen any signs of her Alice. How was she supposed to use an Alice anyway?

"Hurry up, before I choose someone else." said Natsume, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Please stop! They have nothing to do with this!" pleaded Mikan as she slowly got up.

"Why should I" said Natsume, one brow raised. And then to the surprise of everybody present, Mikan ran at Natsume and tackled him to the ground and desperately held him there.

"Please stop!" she said quietly as tears began to form in her eyes. Natsume flinched slightly. He looked away and began to struggle and use his Alice but nothing happened. Why?

Suddenly, Narumi came out of nowhere and stooped down to kiss Natsume on his forehead causing him to faint…again.

Mikan quickly wiped her eyes and looked up in surprise "How did you get here Narumi-san?"

Narumi smiled calmly, "The staff and I were watching over you guys to make sure you don't get into serious trouble."

Mikan looked around and saw that the fire had disappeared from the vicinity. "Hotaru! Yuu-kun! You guys are alright! Thank god!" shouted Mikan in relief as she got up hugged her friends, thankfully they weren't hurt.

Luca went over to Natsume and made sure he was still breathing allowing Narumi to get up. Narumi surveyed the area before saying "Well I guess the test is over!" Mikan turned to Narumi in surprise "But I didn't do anything. My Alice was useless."

"Actually you did. Remember what I told you, neh? Your Alice is the Nullification Alice; it allows you to stop any Alice." Mikan shook her head in denial "But Natsume used his Alice and surrounded Hotaru and Yuu-kun in flame! I couldn't do anything to stop it!"

Narumi patted Mikan's head and smiled reassuringly "Don't worry Mikan-chan. It's only in its beginning stages. An Alice can bloom into something useful and beautiful if that is what you want it to become. You might not realize it, but your Alice might become something that people will treasure" When Narumi said that Luca stole a look at Natsume, who was still unconscious. 'Maybe…just Maybe….'

"Alright you little troublemakers, let's get you guys back to school so that we can welcome our new student, Miss Mikan Sakura!" said Narumi.

Mikan smiled happily 'I'm finally going to be able to stay with Hotaru!' and ran to catch up with the group that was already walking away.

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Hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to comment or critique.


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